Exploring oleosin allergenicity: Structural insights, diagnostic challenges, and advances in purification and...

Oleosin, a key membrane protein in oil bodies, maintains lipid storage integrity in seeds and is a major plant allergen, causing severe allergic reactions. This review highlights oleosin's structure, IgE binding epitopes, and cross-reactivity in peanut, hazelnut, sesame, and tartarian buckwheat. Diagnostic tools like skin prick tests and basophil activation tests are effective, but oleosin's lipophilic nature complicates its extraction and purification, leading to underrepresentation in water-soluble allergen extracts. Challenges include preventing structural aggregation and ensuring accurate allergenicity assays using organic solvents or detergents. The secondary structure of oleosin, particularly its α-helix and β-strand domains, remains debated and requires further validation. At present, the purification and solubilization of oleosin remain a key area of research and play an important role in its application in food industry, medical field, biological sector, cosmetic industry, and materials science field.